EA, Valve Confirms Half-Life 2 PS3/X360/PC Bundles

Electronic Arts and Valve have announced plans to release a compilation of Source-powered games, including the highly anticipated Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2, as a box set for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in 'Fall 2007'. Dubbed the Orange Box, the set will feature the two previously mentioned titles, as well as the original Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and the single-player puzzle action game Portal, designed by the team behind award-winning student title Narbacular Drop. Electronic Arts previously confirmed that Half-Life 2: Episode Two would be released simultaneously for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, and this marks a final confirmation of the bundle's contents and a release date. While a PC version of the Orange Box is now planned, presumably due to the overall timing of the bundles, the Orange Box release will coincide with the similarly named Black Box, a somewhat smaller PC-only collection featuring just Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2, also dated. “In less than 18 months, we’ve shipped 10 new products to retail outlets with EA Partners,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve. “The Black Box and the Orange Box represent a new approach to publishing multiple products, on multiple platforms and we know through our experience that no organization in the industry is better equipped to successfully launch new product types on multiple platforms than EA Partners.”